What Appears Real (Isn't always so)
by mjf2468
Summary: A different take on how and why the confrontation happens between Oliver and Ra's al Ghul. Someone from Oliver's Hong Kong past reappears and kills Sara. Ra's kidnaps Oliver and brings him to Nanda Parbat to prevent him from interfering with his plans for Starling City and the world. The story is canon up to episode 3 x 9, during the meeting with Ra's. Caped help arrives to assist.
1. Ch 1: A Kidnapping and Disappearance

Summary: A different take on the how and why the confrontation happens between Oliver and Ra's al Ghul. Someone from Oliver's Hong Kong past reappears and kills Sara. Ra's kidnaps Oliver and brings him to Nanda Parbat to prevent him from interfering with his plans for Starling City and the world. The story is canon up to episode 3 x 9, during the meeting with Ra's.

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters; WB/DC does. I only own any original ideas found in this.

 **AN: Yep, yet another story about Ra's and Nanda Parbat. (I think I am obsessed with it until I come up with the "perfect" Ra's story that corrects everything I didn't like about this arc on the show). I did start this last year but couldn't make it work last year (because it was decidedly AU). For some reason it recently called out to me. So here is the first chapter. Sure you enjoy it. It is very AU, and promises to have some special guests as well.**

 **AN 2: date 6/18/16: slightly revised, to make some meanings clearer and replace some incorrect words.**

Oliver's nightmare had begun two nights ago, when he had been ambushed in an alley by soldiers from Nanda Parbat. He was knocked unconsciousness, restrained and woke up to find himself lying on the ground in front of Nyssa al Ghul. Oliver struggled to sit up as Nyssa glared down at him.

Nyssa, the beautiful daughter of Ra's al Ghul, was on a mission from her father, the fearless leader of the League of Assassins, a group of killers known world-wide for their cruelty and efficiency. She informed Oliver her father was not happy with one of his operatives being killed while visiting Oliver's city. As if Oliver had anything to do with it. And it wasn't as if they weren't trying everything to find out who murdered Sara…their Sara. Of course they were attempting to bring the killer to justice. They just haven't had any luck. Unfortunately.

Apparently, Ra's was unaccepting of this lack of progress, and thought it concerned him. Nyssa informed Oliver that Ra's had issued a decree that, unless Ta-er Sah-fer's killer was found and brought to him within forty-eight hours, blood would begin to flow in the streets of Starling. Fifty people would continue to be killed daily until Ta-er Sa-fir's killer was brought to him.

Oliver struggled against his bonds without any success in loosening them. "Nyssa, you know we've been looking for Sara's murderer for the past three months. You know we've been doing our best."

"It does not matter. My father demands results or restitution." She glared at Oliver. "Meet us here when the time is up. Be prepared for the consequences if you fail." Sniffing in disgust, Nyssa added, "Do not bring any of your team with you. We will take that as a sign of disrespect and thus begin the killings immediately. Beginning with them."

Oliver was left alone in the deserted building, still bound. He watched as the soldiers and Nyssa marched out, leaving without another word. Sighing, he began to work on the ropes restraining him. It took a few minutes longer than it usually did, but he was able to release himself. Only to return to the lair and inform his team of the new threat.

As expected, Team Arrow was unable to find the identity of the murderer over the next two days. Oliver was left without any other choice but to meet Nyssa. He had informed his team he was sure he would return with details of a battle, and refused their offers to accompany them.

"No, they told me to come alone. Anything else would negate any agreement and would result in the beginning of the murders."

Oliver could tell the information didn't sit well especially with Diggle and Felicity, but they had no choice. Roy was attempting to hide his worry, but with little success. Oliver said good-bye to them and met Nyssa at the designated deserted warehouse again.

As he approached the building, Oliver observed nothing unusual. He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but he remained alert. Nyssa was still able to sneak behind him without his knowledge.

"Oliver."

He turned and observed as the warrior walked towards him. "Nyssa."

"Thank you for meeting me." The comment was loaded with sinister meaning.

"I didn't think I had a choice."

"No, you did not. My father is very serious. As you well know." Nyssa nodded. "Please follow me."

Oliver followed her into the building and down several hallways. As soon as they entered a large room, he was surrounded by LOA soldiers, swords drawn. Several broke rank, and Ra's entered the circle to stand in front of Oliver. He nodded, and two men behind Oliver approached him. One of them placed his hand on Oliver's shoulder, applied a nerve block, which brought Oliver to his knees. His wrists were bound together behind his back, and he was brought back to his feet.

One of the men next to Ra's removed his veil. Oliver could not stifle a gasp. It was Maseo, his handler while he was in Hong Kong working for Amanda Waller and her clandestine organization. Oliver thought he had died in their last adventure there.

"Yes, Oliver, it is I."

"How?" Oliver decided to allow his incredulity show in his question.

Maseo shrugged. "This is not the time to discuss that."

Ra's looked at the younger man in front of him. "Mr. Queen, I am disappointed in you. You have failed your city."

Oliver could not believe Ra's had used his very own catchphrase against him. From the little he had read about Ra's, Oliver could only guess Ra's' sense of humor was rare, and he now chose this moment to show it? "You gave me an impossible task. How was I to find out who killed Sara when you knew it all along?" He looked at Maseo, who met his gaze unflinchingly.

"How did you figure it out?" Ra's asked, not completely hiding his appreciation of Oliver's intelligence.

"Who else would have caught Sara unawares to be able to kill her?"

As soon as he saw Maseo, Oliver knew who killed Sara. Only Maseo would have the skills to catch her unawares. Hardly anyone else would have succeeded in killing the skilled League assassin.

"I should not have discounted your intelligence, Mr. Queen. My daughter did try to discourage me from this, out of some kind of misguided loyalty I suppose. However, Starling City will be one of the cornerstone cities in my plan to change the world, and I will not allow you to stand in my way."

"Why? We're not centrally located like Metropolis, and we're not as large as Gotham City. Why choose Starling?"

"Because I can accomplish so much, and get my plans under way, before anyone will be the wiser. As long as you are not there to stop me." Walking up to Oliver, Ra's looked him in the eye. "So, in order to do this, I need to keep you out of the way." He nodded to the man to the right of Oliver. Before Oliver knew it, a needle was thrust into his arm, blackness immediately followed.

~~OQ~~OQ~~OQ~~OQ~~

Oliver attempted to roll over in his sleep, only to awaken and find his wrists manacled and attached by chains to the wall behind him. Instead of lying down, he instead was leaning against a wooden wall. The rank smell of sea water filled his nostrils. The slight uneasiness in his stomach, as well as the rolling movement of his surroundings, informed Oliver he was on a boat of some kind. As his vision cleared, he observed steel bars on three sides of him.

Looking up when he heard footsteps, Oliver was not surprised to see Nyssa approaching him. "What the hell, Nyssa? What's the meaning of this?"

"Like my father said, we need to have you out of the way. We are taking you back with us to Nanda Parbat."

"But why?"

"Why not just kill you? Yes, I asked my father that very question."

"No. Why bring me back with you?"

"My father has plans for you. As well as keeping you from interfering in the plans he has for your city, your country itself."

"For some reason I think I'm not going to like it."

"Actually, no you won't. But there's nothing you can do about it. You were stupid enough to catch my father's attention."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You will find out soon enough. It is not my place to tell you."

"You don't like me very much."

"No. No, I don't."

"May I ask why?"

Nyssa laughed without humor, a grim expression on her face. "Oh, where should I begin? Your self-indulgent playboy past, your huge ego you still have today, or the fact you used my Beloved to avoid commitment with her very own sister? Pick one."

"Aw, don't stop there. Tell me how you really feel."

"Any sympathy I might have shown you in the past was only in memory of my Beloved. Now, I'm going to enjoy watching my father humble you."

His face losing any light-heartedness, Oliver asked, "Seriously, Nyssa, what does your father plan to do?"

"You're a somewhat intelligent man. I hear you're familiar with Bruce Wayne. I'm certain you can figure it out." Nyssa turned and, with head high, walked towards the door.

"Wait, Nyssa! You can't support this plan? Destroy your Beloved's hometown, her country? What would Sara say?"

Nyssa, her head held high, turned to look at Oliver with a steady disgust-filled look in her steel-black eyes. "She's no longer alive to say, is she?" She then walked out without another look at Oliver.

"Nyssa! Nyssa! You can't let this happen! You just can't!" Oliver struggled against the chains with no avail. He continued to yell at the young woman as she left. He let his arms fall to his sides and his shoulders droop in disgust. _What am I going to do? Is Ra's actually going to destroy Starling City? How can I stop him?_

With no answers forthcoming, Oliver leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. Which he quickly opened when he realized a name was said that he hadn't asked about. _Bruce Wayne._ What could Nyssa mean by mentioning Gotham City's Golden Boy?

With everything that had occurred in the three years since he had returned to Starling, Oliver didn't have a moment to spare to think much about what was happening in Gotham City. However, now that he thought about it, Oliver remembered hearing about some type of vigilante who was prowling the streets of Gotham, basically doing what Oliver was attempting to do in Starling. Then there was the buzz when Gotham had almost been destroyed by a wide-spread virus some sort of mega-crazed villain had set loose. Which the Batman had supposedly defeated. Then hadn't been heard of for several months.

Felicity, with her love of current events, had kept Oliver abreast of the news, of which he hadn't taken much notice. She had been particularly drawn to the events because of their attempting to contact Bruce Wayne for a business deal during that time. Unfortunately, they were told he had been called out of the country on some urgent, secret business of his own. Thus they had to shelf the deal.

A most weird, but tantalizingly possible, realization burst in Oliver's mind, encouraged by Nyssa's taunts. Could Gotham City actually have a billionaire-vigilante of their own? Was Bruce Wayne basically copying his idea? (More or less, since it appears they began their crusades around the same time. But Oliver pushed that idea away for future thought).

And so, if Bruce was Batman, then Ra's was the mega-crazed villain who almost destroyed Gotham. And now, instead, planned to use Starling for his evil plans.

Oliver pressed his fingers to his forehead in an attempt to control the headache threatening to develop. Why must he keep ending up in world-ending conflicts? He shook his head. _I really need a vacation._

~~OQ~~OQ~~OQ~~OQ~~

The rest of the voyage passed without incident. Neither member of the al Ghul family came to visit him. He was brought a meal of bland food twice a day. Just enough food and water to keep him alive. No information given, despite Oliver's attempts to get any information whatsoever from the guards.

It begged the question of what purpose was he being kept alive. Did Sara have to die to bring it about? No matter how he looked at it, Oliver could not make sense of it. And, you better believe it, Oliver had been racking his brain trying to come up with any possible explanations.

Not knowing much about Ra's didn't help. In the forty-eight hours they'd been given, Felicity had attempted to get as much information about the League and its leader as she could. Unfortunately, she'd found very little, adding to their frustration. Now, sitting here as the man's captive, Oliver had precious little intel to help plan some sort of escape.

Thinking of Felicity reminded Oliver of his team. He wondered what they thought when he didn't return. Were they told anything? He wondered when, or more likely if, he'd get any answers from Ra's. He also wondered whether his team would attempt a rescue. Shaking his head, Oliver rolled his eyes at himself. Of course, knowing Felicity, they would do anything to help him. Especially Felicity. Even if it meant doing it by herself. Which she wouldn't have to, for Diggle would never allow anything to happen to her.

"Such a serious expression on your face, Mr. Queen. As if you have the entire world upon your shoulders."

Oliver stumbled to his feet. He wanted so much to be able to approach the bars and yell in the face of the man nonchalantly standing there, but the chains wouldn't allow it. "Ra's." After a beat, he said, "How nice to finally see you. Got time to answer some questions?"

Ra's laughed, a low rumbling cackle. "I can only imagine, Mr. Queen, the questions you have. However, I hate to disappoint you but we do not have the time at the moment. I am here merely to inform you we have reached our destination and will be disembarking soon."

Oliver waited for him to continue, then sighed and asked, "And where would that be?"

"As I had told you before, my home. Nanda Parbat. Which I am certain you are not familiar with."

Oliver felt anger simmering within him, and attempted to tamp it down. Losing his temper would not serve any purpose but to entertain the sick SOB in front of him. "I'm open to learning about anything you care to tell me."

"For now, Mr. Queen, prepare yourself to disembark. Soon you will be in your new home."

Before Oliver could say something clever, Ra's turned and walked out of the room. Instead, two soldiers approached, unlocked the cell door, and entered. They released him from the manacles but quickly restrained his arms behind his back and handcuffed his wrists. Oliver was then not so gently pushed towards the door.

 **AN: So what you think? You enjoy? Not sure yet where it should go...like I said, I am still trying to make sense of the events of season 3. Ha. Anyhow, hope you liked and will return when I post future chapters. Thanks soooo much!**


	2. Chapter 2: Oliver Finds Out

Disclaimer: WB/DC own these characters. I'm only borrowing them for a while. I own the original ideas found in this. Also, some of Ra's dialogue while explaining his history with the LOA is from the episode "Al Sah-Him" by Brian Ford Sullivan and Emilio Ortega Aldrich.

 **AN: Thank you for returning to the second chapter of this AU story. I still want to take out Ra's al Ghul and have some more fun with him. I miss him. Also, I wanted to try to come up with ways in which the plotting of season 3 makes sense. Sigh. In this story I offer some more alternative ideas. Hope you like them.**

Previously:

 _"_ _For now, Mr. Queen, prepare yourself to disembark. Soon you will be in your new home."_

 _Before Oliver could say something clever, Ra's turned and walked out of the room. Instead, two soldiers approached, unlocked the cell door, and entered. They released him from the manacles but quickly restrained his arms behind his back and handcuffed his wrists. Oliver was then not so gently pushed towards the door._

They hustled Oliver off of the ship and into the back of a van. Oliver tried to get a look of his surroundings, but he was moved too quickly for that to happen. The only windows in the van were up front, and so the only clues Oliver could pick up were auditory. Unfortunately, he didn't hear anything of use, only nonspecific port, then traffic, noises, followed by silence.

After fifteen minutes, the van stopped. The doors opened, and one of the guards motioned for Oliver to get out of the van. As he got out of the van, Oliver was grabbed by the arms again by guards on either side and brought into what appeared to be a mansion twice the size of his family home. He didn't get too good of a look around before going inside, for after they had entered what appeared to be a large gathering area, they took a left and followed several narrow hallways and down several flights of stairs. To what Oliver could only describe as a good old-fashioned dungeon. _Of course Ra's would have a medieval-looking dungeon to throw his enemies into._

He was led over to the back wall of one of the prison cells, where manacles were hanging from the wall at shoulder and ankle height. While one of the guards held a gun on him, the other removed his handcuffs and placed his wrists, then his ankles, into the manacles. As they exited the cell, Ra's walked in with a grim look on his face.

"Here we are, Mr. Queen. Welcome to your new home."

"Why can't you at least answer one question for me? Why did you bring me here?"

"Patience, Oliver, patience. All will become clear in due time, but first I do have some business to take care of, now that I am back home. Then I will proceed with my plans to reorganize the land once known as the United States." A small smile crossed his face. "With your help, of course."

Ra's again turned smartly around and walked out without another word. Oliver had to physically press his lips together to prevent asking any more useless questions. He knew Ra's would take satisfaction in Oliver continuing to question and Ra's not answering him.

Oliver looked around at his surroundings, now having the opportunity to do so. Walls made out of stone, solidly built, the bars of the jail made out of what looked like sturdy steel. Nothing in the cell to use as either weapon or tool to carry out an escape. Not even a cot to sleep in. At least the chains were long enough to allow him to sit on the floor. _How thoughtful._ Oliver examined the manacles. Perhaps he could have picked the locks. If he still had a lock pick. Unfortunately, as he had discovered when he first woke up on the ship, every tool he had hidden in his suit had been removed, along with all the trackers.

Shaking his head slowly, Oliver sat down slowly on the cold dirt floor and leaned against the uncomfortable stone wall. He'll do some calisthenics later, but for now, he decided to rest. Closing his eyes, he began a meditation to help relax his chaotic mind.

~~OQ~~OQ~~OQ~~OQ~~

Previously, the night of Oliver's kidnapping:

 _As expected, Team Arrow was unable to find the identity of the murderer. Oliver was left without any other choice but to meet Nyssa. He had informed his team he was sure he would return with details of a battle, and refused their offers to accompany them._

 _"_ _No, they told me to come alone. Anything else would negate any agreement and would result in the beginning of the murders."_

 _Oliver could tell the information didn't sit well_ _especially_ _with Diggle and Felicity, but they had no choice._ _Roy was attempting to hide his worry, but with little success. Oliver_ _said good-bye to them and met Nyssa at the designated deserted warehouse again._

Team Arrow waited for Oliver's return. Oliver had led them to believe he would be returning that night. Instead, no Oliver, no call, no text. After the third hour of him being gone, Felicity asked out loud, "Why oh why did we let him leave without asking where he was meeting them?"

Diggle and Roy exchanged looks. Roy rolled his eyes, and Diggle said with forced gentleness, "Felicity, you know we wouldn't have gotten that information out of him if he didn't want to give it."

"I know, but something must have happened. Would they…would they have just killed him?"

"No, they wouldn't do that. Why don't you start checking the airports for suspicious departures?"

"What are you thinking, Diggle?"

"I think Ra's either kidnapped him or killed him. Since his body hasn't shown up, I think Oliver's been kidnapped."

"I'll also check all the hospitals, to make sure he hasn't been admitted." Felicity looked sheepish at Diggle's raised eyebrow. "I know, why wouldn't he be recognized, but just…I just want to make sure."

Diggle nodded. "Any new information on this character Ra's?"

"No. I wonder if we could find Nyssa to ask her." After a second, she added, "On second thought, she probably left with her father."

One of her computers beeped. Felicity scooted over to it in her office chair, and gave a little squeal. Diggle hurried to her side. "What's up?"

"The security system at the seafront went dead for fifteen minutes about two hours ago." Her fingers flying, Felicity checked out several possible sources of information. "I've hacked into their system. They have no explanation, except that a ship which had been there from…from Tibet is no longer in dock. It left without filing a manifest."

"So we have no idea where it was headed."

"I'm tracking down its owner, but, interesting enough, I'm being bounced around all over the world. I'll keep at it."

Roy asked, "Didn't you guys mention the place where Ra's is from, Nanda Parbat, is near Tibet?"

"Yes, we did," Diggle said, "that's what got me worried."

"As well it should be," a voice not belonging in the Foundry came from the shadows. The three looked in shock as Malcolm Merlyn, dressed in a LOA outfit including black hood and uniform, walked into the light.

"How...how did you get down here?" Felicity asked, glancing at the computer handling the security measures of the Foundry and not finding anything amiss.

"I have my ways, Ms. Smoak. But on to more important matters. Like finding Oliver."

Diggle, his anger being held back with some difficulty, stated through clenched teeth, "What do you know about this, Merlyn?"

"What I know from my years with the League. Yes, for some reason Ra's has become enthralled with Oliver. I had believed Ra's was going to challenge him to a duel…"

"You mean you set Oliver up so he would have to duel Ra's," Diggle said with a bitter edge to his voice.

"It wasn't me." Malcolm opened his eyes at the disparaging sounds coming from the other three. "Truly, it wasn't me. It was Maseo."

"Who's Maseo?" Roy asked.

"Someone Oliver once knew…"

"Let me guess. From the island?" Felicity said, her lips curled in a grimace.

Malcolm shook his head. "I don't know why the boy is so secretive nowadays. He wasn't like that when he was young. But, yes, Maseo was someone he was acquainted with while gone from Starling."

Diggle, always business-like, asked, "So, this Maseo? Why'd he kill Sara? And how do you know?"

"Again, Mr. Diggle, I have my sources, which I am unable to share with you. As to his reason, it appears as though Ra's wanted to set Oliver up. In order to trap him. Also, Sara had discovered the reason for Ra's' interest in Starling. And died because of it."

"Do you have any idea what Ra's has in mind?"

"I have my suspicions. It appears he wishes to trap his long-standing nemesis, a man named Damien Darhk."

Felicity said, "Definitely the name of a villain, alliterative and all." She squeaked when Merlyn glared at her. "If the shoe fits…" she mumbled.

Diggle rolled his eyes. "What do you mean, Merlyn?"

"Darhk gets his powers from mystical sources, and apparently he needs a new base of operations. Starling City is one of the greatest nexuses in the world for primordial forces."

"In English, please," Roy requested.

Merlyn bestowed a patronizing look on Roy. "I mean, for people into that sort of thing, Starling is a place where mystical forces can be dialed into." At Roy's continued look of confusion, Merlyn said, "Like ESP."

"Oh." Roy huffed in exasperation. "Why didn't you say that in the first place?"

"Because it's not totally like it, but somewhat. We'll look into that more later." Felicity turned to Merlyn. "So, this Darhk is coming to Starling, Ra's wants to stop him, and believes Oliver can help him with that somehow? Why kidnap him? Why not just ask for his assistance?"

"I think there is more involved than just stopping Darhk. I think Ra's will also somehow benefit greatly from this, one way or another."

Malcolm looked at the three people in front of them, gauging their various reactions. Meanwhile, they waited for him to continue.

Diggle could only look at the man in front of them. Why must he drip out information so maddeningly slow? "Well, Merlyn, what exactly do we do to get the answers we need and to go find Oliver?"

"I don't know yet. That's why I need your help."

~~OQ~~OQ~~OQ~~OQ~~

"Mr. Queen."

Oliver struggled through the chains of Morpheus into trying to wake up. As he woke up, he realized he wasn't lying down, but sitting up in a chair, his arms at his sides, resting on armrests. Before opening his eyes, Oliver attempted to listen for any clues as to what type of environment he was about to face. Nothing until a familiar voice spoke. For a second time, Oliver realized, for it had been what woke him up in the first place.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Queen. I know you are awake. Please open your eyes so we can continue our discussion from earlier."

Oliver internally sighed and opened his eyes. Nothing in front of him but a wall, he turned his head to see Ra's sitting in a raised golden chair watching Oliver with a smile. Looking down, Oliver realized he was indeed sitting in a chair, with his wrists tied to the armrests, and his ankles to the legs of the chair. Returning his attention to his 'host', Oliver said, "So, I'm finally granted an audience, then?"

"Yes. I have decided to enlighten you at this time on several issues."

"Color me excited."

One of Ra's eyebrows arched. "Oh, the entertaining humor my daughter warned me about." He leaned back in his chair, or throne and fixed a serious look upon Oliver. "If you rather, we do not have to have this discussion, Mr. Queen."

Oliver pressed his lips together to hold back a disapproving sound. Instead, he forced himself to say in a neutral tone, "No, I would indeed like to have that discussion now, Ra's, to finally get some answers. I would indeed appreciate it very much." He surprised himself with successfully holding back any sarcasm.

"Good." Ra's studied the young man in front of him for a moment. "I am going to trust you with this information, in the hopes you will be able to see the necessity of the events which are about to occur."

Oliver arched an eyebrow back at Ra's, but remained silent. Ra's smiled again but continued. "You see, Mr. Queen, when I first joined the League, there was another man conscripted at the same time. We become the prized agents of Ra's al Ghul; we were his horsemen. He molded us into warriors the likes the world had never seen. We were as brothers. Until it was time to select his successor.

"Damien believed himself worthy to become heir, but I was the one chosen. I was to kill him, but I hesitated, and with that hesitation, Damien found an opportunity to escape, taking with him his loyalists and water from the Lazarus Pit. And he has vexed me ever since."

"Why are you telling me this?" Oliver asked.

"Because Damien is planning on setting up his new headquarters in your city of Starling. See, he has abandoned the League ways to gain power a different way. Starling City is a nexus for mystical power. Similar to what Lian Yu was. And I know you are familiar with what that island was capable of."

 **AN: Yes, I'm combining seasons three and four together. Hopefully make more sense out of season 4 as well as season 3. I always thought they were going to connect Damien and Ra's together more than they did. They didn't….so…I decided to put it into this story instead. Hope you return to see how this all unfolds. I'm interested too, ha, to see what happens. Ha.**


	3. Chapter 3: Meeting With Malcolm

Disclaimer: WB/DC own these characters. I'm only borrowing them for a while. I own the original ideas found in this.

 **AN: Thank you for all the reviews, favs and follows. Also for returning to read this next exciting chapter. Let's see what's happening now to these folks.**

Previously:

 _"_ _Damien believed himself worthy to become heir, but I was the one chosen. I was to kill him, but I hesitated, and with that hesitation, Damien found an opportunity to escape, taking with him his loyalists and water from the Lazarus Pit. And he has vexed me ever since."_

 _"_ _Why are you telling me this?" Oliver asked._

 _"_ _Because Damien is planning on setting up his new headquarters in your city of Starling. See, he has abandoned the League ways to gain power a different way. Starling City is a nexus for mystical power. Similar to what Lian Yu was. And I know you are familiar with what that island was capable of."_

Oliver considered the man in front of him in shock, but before he could ask a question, Ra's continued, with a pleased smile. "Yes, I do know a lot more about you than you would think."

 _I don't know if I am more shocked that Ra's knows about my experiences on Lian Yu, or that it is all connected to why I am here now._ "Like what?"

"Darhk gains power through death. Once he kills, he is able to harness the life force of his victims into his mystical powers." Ra's continued after giving Oliver a significant look. "Just like Baron Reiter did. On Lian Yu."

Unbidden memories of his time there with Tatiana flooded his mind. Oliver decided not to take the bait but asked instead, "So what's this Damien planning on doing with Starling City? You mention death…"

"Yes. Death of millions. He is planning on dispersing a virus, also one which you are familiar with. The Alpha-Omega megavirus."

"And you killed Sara because…."

"Because she found out about Damien's plan…"

Oliver was attempting to connect the dots of what Ra's was implying, but could not wrap his head around what he was deducing. Oliver interrupted without thought, "And you decided not to have him stopped because you want to kill him yourself? Why? Why haven't you killed him on your own before this?"

Ra's shook his head. "Because he is as good as me in subterfuge. And because, at times, his magic has been stronger than my powers. So I have not been able to succeed with killing him. Yet. He has to be distracted so he will not see me coming. And no one is going to get in my way."

"Not even your daughter's Beloved?"

"Yes, I admit, I may have acted a little rashly. Nyssa might not forgive me, but I really did not have a choice." A small, evil smile appeared on Ra's' face. "She will eventually realize that being with Taer Sa-fir was detrimental to her leadership ability."

Looking Ra's in the eye, Oliver asked, "Why kidnap me?"

"For the same reason I had to kill Taer Sa-fir. To prevent any interference with this plan. I could not take the chance of you knowing anything, in case Taer Sa-fir had successfully passed information to you."

"One flaw. If I did know about the plan, why wouldn't I share it with my colleagues? Wouldn't they then be loose ends as well?"

"Oh, contraire, Oliver. If that were true, they would be immediately taken care of by my agents. Who were waiting in Starling City until they received my command to return home when it was crystal clear you were not aware of any danger to your city."

Oliver breathed a sigh of relief. At least he didn't have to worry about his team getting killed. About the only thing he didn't have to worry about.

"So why didn't you kill me, like you did Sara?"

"Just in case you prove useful. Also, I believe you would also be useful to me in the future."

Oliver knew he didn't like the sound of that. But he didn't know at the moment what to do.

"So what now?"

"We are only waiting for the signal that Darhk is implementing his plan."

"You have no idea when that will be?"

"Not going to tell you everything, Mr. Queen. But I am happy you are now brought up to date."

"I beg to differ. I don't know what is going to happen."

"Oh, all you have to do is wait, for now. Don't worry. You will play your part to perfection, when the time arrives." Ra's looked in front of him and nodded. Three guards approached Oliver. Two untied his hands while the third kept a gun pointed at him.

"Thank you for the little chat, Mr. Queen. I found it to be very enlightening. We now will bring you back to your cell. For now." After Oliver stumbled to his feet, Ra's stated, "Don't worry, we will be talking again very soon."

~~OQ~~OQ~~OQ~~OQ~~

Oliver was returned to the same cell. He wondered again, as he was led through the hallways and into the dungeon, if he should attempt an escape. But now was not the time. The chances of success were in the negative range.

Once again alone, he leaned back into the cement wall and sighed. He had much to think about, and it wasn't good at all. Oliver could not believe that Sara was sacrificed to kill an unknown enemy. It just boggled his mind how complicated their lives were, all because he had decided to accompany his father on that damn trip, and he had made the mistake of taking Sara along. Dooming two families to a lifetime of grief.

However, now was not the time for any self-recrimination about the past. He needed to come up with some plan on how to deal with what Ra's had planned for the future. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he took a deep breath. He needed to review what all he knew so far.

Basically, this guy Darhk was determined to destroy Starling to gain more mystical power. Ra's wanted to kill Darhk and aimed to do it as Darhk attempted to destroy Starling. Starling may or may not be destroyed in the battle between two criminal masterminds, and one Oliver Queen was supposed to be in the middle of it all. Oliver shook his head as the headache which had begun earlier grew to a noticeable ache.

It was all so unbelievable, Oliver didn't know what to do. What could Ra's want from him in light of all of this? What knowledge could he bring regarding his experience at Lian Yu? The only thing he really had gleaned from that experience was that the power, whatever it was, was something Oliver didn't ever want to mess around with ever again, but here he was, having to deal with it again.

Even if he lived to be one hundred he'd never forget what that power had done to Tatiana, a woman whose heart was so pure and whose kindness was apparent even though he only knew her for such a short time. Someone who chose to be dead instead of living out any kind of evil. Oliver never wanted to be around that type of evil again. And here it was back in his life again. He wondered about how almost everything he had come across in his time away from Starling had a tendency in returning to haunt him. If he believed in that kind of thing, he would say it seemed his time away, hell though it was, was meant to be so he could help others as time goes on. If he only believed in that type of thing.

~~OQ~~OQ~~OQ~~OQ~~

Previously:

 _"_ _I think there is more involved than just stopping Darhk. I think Ra's will also somehow benefit greatly from this, one way or another."_

 _Malcolm looked at the three people in front of them, gauging their various reactions. Meanwhile, they waited for him to continue._

 _Diggle could only look at the man in front of them. Why must he drip out information so maddeningly slow? "Well, Merlyn, what exactly do we do to get the answers we need and to go find Oliver?"_

 _"_ _I don't know yet. That's why I need your help."_

Diggle shook his head, "You gotta be kidding, Merlyn. You expect _us_ to help you when you haven't really told us _anything_?"

"I got the information you need to get started. I need your help to stop Ra's. I think it is a fair partnership."

"Partnership? What in blazes makes you think we want to work with you?" Felicity asked him in her 'loud' voice.

"Hey, I get it. None of you like or trust me. I understand. However, if you wish to save Oliver, you better all put away your attitude and get to work. Otherwise, all of this will be for nothing."

Diggle rolled his eyes, searched out his comrades' eyes and sat down. "Roy, Felicity, let's hear Merlyn out." Looking back at Merlyn, he said, "We really don't have anything else to go on, at the moment."

Merlyn nodded his thanks. "Now, I will recap. I believe Ra's has taken Oliver back to Nanda Parbat as part of a plan to trap and kill Damien Darhk when he attempts to carry out his own plan for Starling City. What that is exactly, is part of what I need your assistance with."

Felicity swung around in her office chair, leaned back and fixed a death glare on Malcolm. "How do you propose we proceed then, Merlyn?"

"There must be something else in Oliver's past which makes him valuable to both Ra's and Darhk. Would either of you know what that would be?"

Diggle and Felicity exchanged a look, followed by both shaking their heads. Again Merlyn sighed. "Again, why must that boy be so secretive about the past?" He asked Felicity, "Just wondering, have you ever attempted to do a deep high-security hacking job on Oliver? Look at everything out there on him?"

A short laugh erupted from the petite blonde. "No, but how I have been tempted."

"I know you might feel it is breaking loyalties, or something, but I believe it's warranted in this case. We need to figure out what exactly Oliver knows that can be used to destroy a city."

Felicity squared her shoulders, made a grimace, and said, "Well, even though I hate to admit it, you do make a good point." Turning towards her computers, her fingers began to speed across the various keyboards. "I have some searches going, and will work on hacking into others."

"Thank you, Ms. Smoak. I knew you all would see reason." Walking towards the door, Malcolm said, "I will be in touch. I will see what else I can dig up as well, and we shall talk again tomorrow."

The team watched as Malcolm left the conventional way of the stairs. As soon as they heard the door latch, Felicity said, "Ain't this all something or what?"

"Yeah, I know," Roy agreed.

Felicity looked up at Diggle. "You for sure can't think of anything Oliver might have told you over the years which might be pertinent to all of this?"

Diggle shook his head. "Nothing has come into my mind as yet, Felicity. I'm going to go check with Lyla and see if she can find something out from ARGUS. I'll be in touch."

Felicity nodded as she returned her attention back to her screens. As she typed in some additional commands, she suggested to Roy, "Perhaps you can go check on Thea, make sure she is all right. And…I don't know…maybe nose around and see if she knows anything useful." At Roy's grunt, she added, "I know, probably not, but you never know."

As she was left again with her computers, Felicity wondered if they had a chance to get Oliver out of whatever mess he had found himself in this time. One could only hope, but chances were good they would succeed, if one would only look at their past history. They always had before, she reminded herself, as she straightened her shoulders again and focused her attention on hacking into some more security databases to find the information they so desperately needed. She will concentrate on that, and not the fact that it seemed pretty hopeless for the time being.

 **AN: Yep, another chapter done. A little closer in finding out what is going on between Ra's and Darhk. Thank you again so much for reading, and hopefully you will take the time to write a review and let me know you are still enjoying this little story. It is always so appreciated!**


	4. Chapter 4: Forces Coming Together

Disclaimer: WB/DC own these characters. I'm only borrowing them for a while. I own the original ideas found in this.

 **AN: Hey, thanks for returning. Hope you are still enjoying this AU. Still trying to make more sense at the possible plot possibilities than the Arrow writers did, I felt, for both seasons 3 and 4. Hopefully season 5 wouldn't have huge plot holes again. They just love leaving them in the show, sigh. (Random thought, not connected to this story. When will they explain what Merlyn did with Savage's ashes episode 4 x 8?)**

Previously:

 _Basically, this guy Darhk was determined to destroy Starling to gain more mystical power. Ra's wanted to kill Darhk and aimed to do it as Darhk attempted to destroy Starling. Starling may or may not be destroyed in the battle between two criminal masterminds, and one Oliver Queen was supposed to be in the middle of it all. Oliver shook his head as the headache which had begun earlier grew to a noticeable ache._

 _It was all so unbelievable, Oliver didn't know what to do. What could Ra's want from him in light of all of this? What knowledge could he bring regarding his experience at Lian Yu? The only thing he really had gleaned from that experience was that the power, whatever it was, was something Oliver didn't ever want to mess around with ever again, but here he was, having to deal with it again._

Oliver still couldn't believe his luck. How he ever got involved in a war between two mega-criminals was beyond him. Somehow, he needed to stop this. But how?

Oliver leaned back against the wall of his cell deep in thought, reviewing all Ra's had shared with him the past several days. One overlooked nugget occurred to him: in his explanation, Ra's forgot to bring up again the tidbit he had dropped the night of Oliver's kidnapping about Starling City being one of the cornerstone cities in his plan to change the world. How will this be possible?

Suddenly Oliver realized the full scope of Ra's' plan. He really did mean to allow the destruction of Starling City to proceed, and why Sara was killed. Ra's knew Sara would inform Oliver about this, and would do everything in her power to stop him. Instead she was killed because of it.

And so Ra's lied to him about planning to stop Darhk's plan before anyone but Darhk could be killed. In this way, two of Ra's' objectives would be solved: Darhk killed and Starling destroyed. Once Starling and other cities were destroyed, supposedly Ra's would then be able to "recreate" the country in the vision he held. Ra's did mention Starling being only one of the "cornerstone" cities in his plan to "change the world".

And, at this time, besides Maseo, Oliver and Amanda were the only other people who really knew what the Alpha-Omega virus was about, as far as Oliver knew. Well, besides anyone in ARGUS who'd have access to classified information. Which brought up another concern: how did Darhk obtain the virus in the first place? And could Ra's also have a sample as well? Maseo had pretended once to hand it over to Amanda, did he also pretend that final time in order to keep it as a means to gain entry into the League?

How could Maseo allow someone else to use the Alpha-Omega virus to once again destroy people's lives? Was the man Oliver once knew so long gone he couldn't be reached with memories of his dying son? It appeared so. After failing to stop Shrieve in Hong Kong from releasing the virus, after preventing thousands of deaths there, including that of his very own son, how could Maseo allow it to be used again? And how could Maseo actually think Oliver would sit back and allow it to be used to destroy his very own hometown?

Shaking himself to stop the self-recriminations and the flashbacks to the past, Oliver returned his thoughts to the present goal: stopping Ra's and Darhk. Apparently, Oliver was considered important enough to be included in Ra's' plan to stop Darhk. Perhaps a timed arrow into Darhk while he was concentrating on releasing the virus? If so, what would prevent Oliver from killing him a moment sooner and preventing the virus from spreading at all?

And what made him so valuable to Darhk that Ra's had to hide him from Darhk?

What about Amanda? Would she have any clue about any of this? What happened with her following the virus since Hong Kong?

So many questions, so few answers. And no way to communicate any of this to his team. Oliver wondered what they thought of his continued disappearance, and whether there were any clues as to what happened to him. If they were, Oliver literally was betting his life on Felicity finding them.

Without knowing it, Oliver drifted off to sleep as he contemplated the many questions, his body tired even when his mind was not.

~~OQ~~OQ~~OQ~~OQ~~

Previously:

 _Felicity looked up at Diggle. "You for sure can't think of anything Oliver might have told you over the years which might be pertinent to all of this?"_

 _Diggle shook his head. "Nothing has come into my mind as yet, Felicity. I'm going to go check with Lyla and see if she can find something out from ARGUS. I'll be in touch."_

Reaching his house, Diggle stopped outside his door. He drew in a deep breath, expanding his impressive chest, then let out the breath slowly. The few times Diggle had crossed that imaginary line he himself drew between him and Lyla, attempting to keep their personal and professional lives separate, it almost always ended in a huge fight which threatened their relationship. However, in this case, he really felt he had no choice. Oliver was out there, somewhere, and they didn't know where he was or who actually had him. Who this Ra's and Darhk were, what they wanted (besides Oliver, that is) and how they could be stopped were some of the unanswered questions threatening Oliver's safety. Too many unknowns in this equation was giving Diggle a very strong unsettled feeling indeed.

So…he was going to ask his fiancée to possibly endanger her standing, her job and even her career, to spill information which could help them get Oliver back. He unlocked the door and entered his home, letting the smells of home overwhelm him momentarily with a sense of peace he so totally needed.

Diggle softly closed the door and listened to see where his girls were at. He smiled as he recognized them to be in Sara's room. Looking at his watch, Diggle realized it was later than he had thought. Announcing himself in a loud-enough voice for Lyla to hear, but hopefully not loud enough to wake up the baby, he made his way to the bedroom.

Lyla met him at the door. She gave him a quick kiss, and led him to the crib. Smiling down at his precious girl, Diggle was gifted with a sleepy smile as well from the little girl. He straightened the blanket and said softly, "Sleep well, my darling. Daddy loves you very much and will see you tomorrow."

Taking her hand, Diggle led Lyla out to the living room and to the sofa. Sitting down, Lyla looked at Diggle with concern. "What's wrong?"

Diggle let out a sigh. He brushed his hands through his short hair. "Where to begin?" He looked at Lyla. She was alarmed at the concern in his eyes. "Oliver's missing. We believe Ra's al Ghul has taken him."

Lyla worried her lower lip and nodded slightly. Diggle caught a fleeting look in her eye. Senses aware, he asked, "What do you know?" Catching a different look flitting across her face before it was gone, he sighed and asked, "What can you tell me?"

Letting go of his hand and beginning to pace in front of him, Lyla struggled with what she was going to say. Diggle interrupted. "I know, I warned myself this is going to be one of those times when we have to discuss whether we "cross" that line."

"Not _we_ , Johnny. Me. I'm the one whose job could be at risk with what I share with you."

Stroking his chin, Diggle asked, "But, don't you think Waller has decided by now, that in these cases you…that we….well…why wouldn't she expect us to share information?"

Lyla stopped her pacing and turned sharply towards him. "You _know_ that's not how I operate, Johnny." Rolling her eyes, she said, "For someone who is so black and white about most everything, you're certainly gray when it comes to helping out the Arrow."

"That's not fair; you know there've been plenty of times…"

"That's why this doesn't make sense."

Diggle faced her. "Don't you know how it kills me every time we have to think about 'crossing the line'? The last time our argued about this we ended up almost breaking up." Taking her hand again, he said, "It would kill me if that ever happened."

Reaching out to stroke his cheek, Lyla said, "Me too." Continuing she said, "Then why are you asking this time?"

"Maybe you don't know as much as I thought, if you have to ask that."

Placing a hand on her forehead, Lyla asked, "When did our jobs start involving such a number of dangerous criminals?"

"I don't know."

"Well, Johnny, what do you want to do?"

"Would there be any chance for us to talk to Amanda directly and get the information we need? It would let you off the hook."

"I don't know, Johnny."

"Maybe when we talk about world-ending crises, we throw out the rulebook, don't you think?"

"Who says it has anything to do with world-ending?"

"Malcolm did. And Lyla, we've provided ARGUS with just as much intel over the years as you've given us, you have to admit."

"I may, but Waller may not."

"Felicity is already attempting to hack her way into any records which would tell us any remaining secrets Oliver has kept from us."

Lyla's eyes widened. "Do you think that's wise?"

"Yeah, we're not so crazy about doing it, but…you see, it sounds like between these two master-minds, Ra's and this Damien Darhk…we may not have a choice. Without Oliver, we may have no other way to stop them." Swallowing the lump in his throat, Dig decided to make the suggestion on the tip of his tongue. "So…will you please call Waller and see if she'd come talk to us tomorrow?"

Looking at her watch, Lyla sighed. "Well, it's not too late to contact her. Especially if it's concerning world security."

Diggle nodded, and said, "Go make your phone call in the bedroom. I'll stay here and not listen." Lyla smiled at her fiancée and left to do exactly that.

~~OQ~~OQ~~OQ~~OQ~~

Previously:

 _As she was left again with her computers, Felicity wondered if they had a chance to get Oliver out of whatever mess he had found himself in this time. One could only hope, but chances were good they would succeed, if one would only look at their past history. They always had before, she reminded herself, as she straightened her shoulders again and focused her attention on hacking into some more security databases to find the information they so desperately needed. She will concentrate on that, and not the fact that it seemed pretty hopeless for the time being._

As she was busy attempting several hacks which had been seemingly impossible before, Felicity was startled as a voice came out of seemingly nowhere.

"Ms. Smoak."

Turning to the computer which had been attempting to hack into the ARGUS database, Felicity was startled to see one scary Amanda Waller on the screen. "Oh, oh….ah, hello Aman…I mean, Ms. Waller. Um, how are you skyping me? I didn't know you had our number."

"Don't play dumb with me, Ms. Smoak. I know you're smarter than that."

Turning wide eyes to the woman on the screen, Felicity attempted to lie. "Um, I still don't know what you mean, Ms. Waller."

"Why are you attempting to hack ARGUS records, Ms. Smoak? You must have a very good reason to attempt something so foolish."

Realizing there was no point in attempting to deny it, Felicity went straight to the point. "We need to know all you know about Oliver. He's gone missing, and we think he is stuck in a war between these guys named Ra's and Darhk."

"Why would you think anything we might have on Mr. Queen would be beneficial with this?"

Knowing she should control her "loud" voice, but not caring in concern for Oliver, Felicity said, "Because there's no time to lose. Because both these men are known to want to destroy the world. Because both you and Oliver like to keep secrets and I am just tired of tolerating it anymore!"

Amanda leaned back in her chair and fixed Felicity with a cocked eyebrow and a cold stare. A stare from which Felicity felt she should withdraw, but somehow she stood her ground and returned the gaze unflinchingly. Felicity jutted out her chin and held her tongue, amazingly enough, to allow Amanda to speak next.

"I will personally talk to your team tomorrow, Ms. Smoak. Expect me in your lair tomorrow at 10am." The connection was then cut.

Overwhelmed with what just happened, Felicity fell into the office chair and blew out some air. Hit with a sudden idea, she jumped up in her chair and grabbed her phone and dialed. "Dig, Felicity. I was just contacted by….oh, you and Lyla already know. Oh…she did? Is she mad at Lyla? No? That's good. She told me 10am…okay…Lyla will be here as well? Good. I'll see you then." Listening to Diggle, Felicity made a face then sighed. "All right, yeah, it is late. Okay, I will go home. I will text you when I get home, yes, Dad." Hanging up, Felicity shook her head. It was difficult at times working with two very protective, paranoid men, but Felicity was almost always thankful as well for their concern.

Looking at her scans once more time, and blowing another burst of disgusted air out of her lungs, Felicity switched the scans to her tablet and turned the computers and other equipment off. Making sure everything was secure, she turned off the lights and left the lair. Always conscious of her surroundings she made it to her car without incident and got home. Just so "big brother Dig" wouldn't worry she shot off a text letting him know she got home all right, got ready for bed and fell asleep as soon as she hit her bed.

 **AN: Well, there goes another chapter. There were supposed to be two guest stars appearing in this chapter, but…well, ARGUS showed up. So they should appear in the next chapter. Any guess who they might be? One reviewer already had "suggested" they/he make an appearance. So we shall see if anyone guesses who these guests will be.**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter and will let me know what you think. Always appreciated, and again huge thanks for continuing to read this story!**


	5. Chapter 5: New Help Arrives

Disclaimer: WB/DC own these characters. I'm only borrowing them for a while. I own the original ideas found in this.

 **AN: Thank you for returning. I had meant for two very special guest stars to show up in the previous chapter, but suddenly ARGUS got involved. So...they had to wait until this chapter. Hope you enjoy them.**

Bruce Wayne was down in his Batcave, simply surfing the internet for anything significant. Things had been quiet in Gotham the past few weeks. Of course, instead of enjoying this little respite, Bruce was worrying about whether something major was being planned he had overlooked. In between the articles, he was also running several name searches and face recognition scans, ensuring he knew where all major criminals were at for the moment.

With his razor sharp hearing, he heard Dick enter the elevator and make his way to the underground Cave. He just kept his attention on the many screens in front of him, knowing Dick would be demanding his attention soon enough.

"Bruce, have I got some news for you! Actually I'm surprised you haven't gotten this one way or another," Dick said, as he bounced down the few stairs to the computer work area.

"Dick, I'm busy here keeping an eye on Gotham. Nothing is happening. What news could you possibly have that I don't know about?"

"Ra's is attempting to make someone else his Heir."

Bruce knew he wasn't fooling Dick with pretending not to care by keeping his attention on the computer screens. However, he nonchalantly asked, "Who's the unlucky guy now?"

"Oliver Queen."

That got Bruce's attention. "Oliver? I wonder what he did to catch Ra's' attention." A moment later, he shook his head and said, "Poor guy."

"Is that all you have to say, Bruce?" Dick wasn't fooled by Bruce's reply in his "bored playboy voice".

Returning his attention to the computer screens, Bruce shrugged. "What do you expect me to do, Dick?"

"Don't you think Oliver is a little ill-matched to go up against Ra's? He can't possibly know him like we do."

"You know my philosophy, Dick. No interfering with anything not Gotham."

"That's stupid and you know it, Bruce. If you're waiting for his colleagues to reach out and ask us for help, you know they don't know about us."

"Oliver thinks he's pretty good with keeping secrets. If he only knew," Bruce mumbled.

"Yeah, well, he doesn't know his business competitor from Gotham is actually Batman and knows he goes out at night in green leather. Yet."

"You know my thoughts about partnerships, Dick."

"And you know I think that's just idiotic. And egotistical. What if one of these days Gotham suffers because something is bigger than what you can handle, on your own." At Bruce's glare, Dick glared back. "I mean it, Bruce. You, despite all evidence to the contrary, are not infallible."

"I never said I was."

"Still, aren't you the least bit concerned with what Ra's has planned now? It's been a few years since his last attempt at world domination. It's probably time for him to attempt it again. And for some reason, he has decided not to get us involved this time." Meeting only silence, Dick shook his head. "I know it concerns me, and I don't know Ra's half as well as you do."

Sighing, Bruce leaned back in his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose. Looking up at Dick, he said, "All right, I'll check into it. You might have some good points."

Dick smiled his cocky smile, but refrained from any further smart remark, not wanting to jeopardize changing Bruce's mind. "Anything I can do to help right now?"

"Why don't you go over to the other batch of computers and start the usual scans for Ra's and Oliver. See what comes up. I'll finish what I got over here."

Dick smiled and moved over to the second batch of computers with a bounce in his step. Bruce shook his head as he watched him, then returned his attention to the computers in front of him.

~~OQ~~OQ~~OQ~~OQ~~

Previously:

 _"_ _Why are you attempting to hack ARGUS records, Ms. Smoak? You must have a very good reason to attempt something so foolish."_

 _Knowing she should control her "loud" voice, but not caring in concern for Oliver, Felicity said, "Because there's no time to lose. Because both these men are known to want to destroy the world. Because both you and Oliver like to keep secrets and I am just tired of tolerating it anymore!"_

 _Amanda leaned back in her chair and fixed Felicity with a cocked eyebrow and a cold stare._

 _"_ _I will personally talk to your team tomorrow, Ms. Smoak. Expect me in your lair tomorrow at 10am." The connection was then cut._

The Arrow team arrived at the Lair at 9:30 am to prepare for Waller's visit. Felicity attempted to hide her nervousness from her team, but she knew she was probably failing. She knew it was an oxymoron, but she attempted to calm her nerves with her usual latte, but it wasn't very effective.

As they took their seats at the conference table, Felicity looked around at her team. Lyla, Diggle, Laurel, and Roy were all looking at her. Felicity swallowed and choked out, "Well, does anyone know what questions we need to ask Waller when she's here?"

"Wasn't it your idea to contact her in the first place, Felicity?" Diggle asked with one of his small, "know-it-all" smiles. He of course exuded his usual calm demeanor.

"Um, well, I hoped I would wake up with ideas this morning, but it didn't work," Felicity said, looking down at her cuticles.

Lyla gave her husband a look and said, "Don't worry, Felicity, I got some idea how to direct Amanda into giving you the information you need."

Felicity gave her a bright smile and breathed out in relief. "That's good. Does anyone have anything they want to make sure we ask her?"

"Nothing comes to mind, Felicity, but don't worry. We will get the information we need to find Oliver," Diggle said, wishing to alleviate the blonde's worries.

At 10 am sharp, the alarm announcing an unknown presence outside the back door. Digg got up to look at the screen then spoke through the microphone. "Thank you for coming. We'll let you in," buzzing the security door open.

In the silence which followed, heels clanging on the steel steps were heard as Ms. Amanda Waller, head of the top-secret defense agency ARGUS, made her way down to the lair.

She walked towards the table, approaching them with a slight smile on her face. When she had approached the head of the table, and the only empty chair, Amanda said, "Good morning, all," and took a seat.

Lyla spoke up. "Thank you again for coming in person, Amanda. We cannot tell you how much we appreciate this."

Including everyone in her cool, calculating look, Amanda said evenly, "I am sure that is the case." After a pause, she said, "And I am sure I need not stress the importance of keeping all information only among all of us here in this room."

"As with all of our adventures, Amanda," Diggle said, not hiding his impatience.

"Touché, Mr. Diggle." Amanda patted a non-existent hair into place with a hand and began.

"Against my better judgement, I have decided to bring you all up to date on what we know about Oliver, Darhk and al Ghul."

Diggle shot a warning glance at Felicity and Roy not to make any glib comments. Amazingly, both kept quiet; Felicity having to bite her tongue in order to remain quiet.

"From what we have gathered, Darhk and al Ghul are bitter enemies from way back. al Ghul has been attempting to kill Darhk for many a century, but Darhk has been able to fend him off. However, this time al Ghul believes he has a fool-proof plan."

"How fool-proof is it if you know about it?" Roy asked.

"Touché, Mr. Harper. We have our sources and that's why we have gotten this information. al Ghul isn't aware we have this information, despite his own world-class spy network. It is why Sara Lance was killed after all."

Amanda waited while the group expressed their disbelief at such a statement.

"Darhk wants to release a killer virus upon Starling, in order to obtain almost-supernatural powers via the mystical forces available here in Starling. al Ghul plans to kill Darhk while he is distracted carrying out this idea."

"And Sara was killed because of this idea? Why exactly was she seen as more of a threat than any of the rest of us?" Diggle asked.

"She found out about it and was about to tell Oliver, and probably the rest of you, but al Ghul found out and killed her."

"Quite a waste, especially since she didn't even get a chance to tell Oliver," Diggle said.

"Be glad she didn't, for all of you would have been killed as well, if al Ghul had anything to say about it." Again, Amanda waited until gasps subsided. "We knew his assassins were in Starling trailing all of you."

"And you didn't bother to inform me of this?" Lyla asked her supervisor, not bothering to hide her anger.

Amanda bestowed one of her characteristic "freezing glares" upon her subordinate. "It wasn't necessary. al Ghul called them off when he realized Oliver hadn't been told anything, thus neither were any of you."

"So why did Ra's take Oliver then?" Felicity asked.

"Because Darhk would have, due to his knowledge of the antidote."

"Antidote? There's an antidote? Why didn't you tell me that, Amanda?" Lyla asked.

"Again, Michaels, I do not necessarily tell you everything, even though you're my second-in-command."

"Is it because of my relationship with Dig?"

"No, not always." Continuing on, Amanda said, "There's an antidote which Oliver and I are familiar with from our days in Hong Kong. Thus making him valuable to Darhk. However, for whatever reason, Darhk is not aware I have my own supply of it."

"That's good to know, in case we in Starling need it. So, did you bring some along to inoculate all of us?" Felicity asked.

"No, actually I didn't. I didn't think it was necessary. Yet."

"But when you do deem it necessary it may be too late," Dig said.

"Mr. Diggle, your faith in me is outstanding," Amanda said with a small smile. "I will consider your objections."

Diggle rolled his eyes but remained silent. After a moment, he asked instead, "So, we have two mega-maniacal criminals hell-bent on destroying Starling, much less the world. Both are interested in Oliver. We have a virus we have to be concerned about. So, I assume you have an idea of how we stop these villains?"

"Yes. You team up with Batman and Nightwing."

"Who? Those crazy vigilantes from Gotham? Why should we do that?" Diggle asked.

"Because they have dealt with Ra's al Ghul and his mad schemes before to destroy the world."

"What about Merlyn? He has told us he has valuable information of Nanda Parbat he is willing to share with us," Felicity said.

"That may be correct, but working with Batman and Nightwing would be the best way to beat Ra's. They are, you may not believe it, even more talented than Mr. Queen, and are quite resourceful in their own right."

"Better than Oliver? I don't think so," Felicity muttered. As Roy nudged her, Felicity jumped. She looked at the others staring at her and her face fell. "I said that out loud, didn't I?"

Amanda quirked an eyebrow at her, but Felicity decided to make her point. "I haven't met them, but I have heard they both are quite difficult to work with."

A laugh escaped Amanda. "And are you saying Oliver isn't?"

Diggle hid a smile behind a cough, and Roy had to leave the table for a glass of water.

"Well, I for one sure hope we can change your minds about us, since we came all this way to help you."

To Team Arrow's amazement, two caped figures stepped out of the darkness.

 **AN: Hope you enjoyed Batman and Nightwing's introduction, and the rest of this chapter. Leave it to Amanda to take over things. With two big villains, reinforcements are needed. Especially with Oliver in the middle of the tug-of-war between the two. Hope you will return when I post the next chapter, and don't forget to leave me a review. Always encourages the Muse!**


	6. Chapter 6: Batman Takes Charge

Disclaimer: WB/DC own these characters. I'm only borrowing them for a while. I own the original ideas found in this.

 **AN: Thank you for returning to read this story. We shall now see if the Dynamic Duo can play nice with Team Arrow. Too bad Oliver isn't there as well…won't that be a hoot to see Oliver and Bruce interact? Maybe I got to write another story about that sometime….anyhoo, enough of all that. Now onto this new chapter. Enjoy!**

Previously:

 _"_ _So, I assume you have an idea of how we stop these villains?"_

 _"_ _Yes. You team up with Batman and Nightwing."_

 _"_ _Who? Those crazy vigilantes from Gotham? Why should we do that?" Diggle asked._

 _"_ _Because they have dealt with Ra's al Ghul and his mad schemes before to destroy the world."_

 _"_ _What about Merlyn? He has told us he has valuable information of Nanda Parbat he is willing to share with us," Felicity said._

 _"_ _That may be correct, but working with Batman and Nightwing would be the best way to beat Ra's. They are, you may not believe it, even more talented than Mr. Queen, and are quite resourceful in their own right."_

 _"_ _Better than Oliver? I don't think so," Felicity muttered._

 _Amanda quirked an eyebrow at her, but Felicity decided to make her point. "I haven't met them, but I have heard they both are quite difficult to work with."_

 _A laugh escaped Amanda. "And are you saying Oliver isn't?"_

 _Diggle hid a smile behind a cough, and Roy had to leave the table for a glass of water._

 _"_ _Well, I for one sure hope we can change your minds about us, since we came all this way to help you."_

 _To Team Arrow's amazement, two caped figures stepped out of the darkness._

After Nightwing made his comment, Diggle leaped from his chair. "Damn it, Amanda! You have no right to invite whoever you want down to our secret lair!"

Amanda shrugged her slim shoulders. "I would think Oliver would consider saving the world to take precedence over protecting his secret." She sniffed. "For once."

Batman walked over to the table and took the seat Diggle had vacated. "And considering I have much experience in both battling Ra's grandiose schemes to take over the world, as well as evading his attempts in making me his Heir, I am very qualified to offer much needed…advice, shall we say?"

"Really? You mean, this guy Ra's has tried both of these things before?" Diggle asked.

"You'd think he'd have given up by now," Roy muttered.

"I like you," Nightwing said to Roy. "Yes, you'd think so. Except I think he's learned to be both persistent _and_ patient by living so many centuries." He sat down in the empty chair next to Roy.

"I, for one, think we need all the help we can get. Especially if they have the heads up on this Ra's guy. I haven't been able to find much info on him, as yet," Felicity said.

Batman fixed a gaze on the petite blonde. "So, _you_ are the IT expert."

Felicity walked up to the imposing figure in dark blue, looking up into his eyes and reached out her hand. "Felicity Smoak, MIT class of '09. Good to meet you, Batman."

Batman looked down at the petite figure in front on him, engulfed her tiny hand in his large gloved one, and shook it. "Good to meet you, Ms. Smoak. Perhaps I can teach you a few things along the way."

Felicity's eyes widened at the supposed insult to her abilities and was about to say something when Lyla interrupted, "Well, now that we're all here, maybe we can get down to business and figure out how to combat these villains."

Amanda stood up. "I trust, Michaels, you can handle the rest of the meeting. With Batman and Nightwing here, my presence is superfluous. So I shall take my leave. I trust, Ms. Smoak, you will not have further need to contact me."

Again, Felicity felt like she should respond but was stopped this time by Dig's hand upon her arm. He winked at her as he took the seat next to his wife which Waller had vacated. He motioned for Felicity to sit down. She rolled her eyes in response but sat down without saying a word and watched Amanda walk out of the lair.

Lyla looked at Batman. "I do wish to extend our thanks for helping us with this."

"It's my hope, Ms. Michaels, we can take care of Ra's al Ghul for once and for all. He's been one of the most bothersome criminals we've ever had to face," Batman told her in his gruff tone.

"Oh, gee, Batman, I thought you were enjoying your little spats with him. _And_ his daughter." Nightwing said, with a gleam in his eye.

Batman glared at his sidekick. "Really, _Nightwing,_ I do not think it's appropriate to tease me about that at this time." Looking around the table, meeting gazes questioning the statement all around, Batman sighed. "Ra's al Ghul has attempted, several times, to maneuver me into marrying his daughter Talia as well as becoming his heir."

"Um, you don't think he's going to try something like that with Oliver now, do you?" Felicity asked.

Batman pursed his lips in disgust. "Who knows? As Waller had said, it seems like the plan is for Darhk to release the virus, to regain the mystical power. Ra's is hiding Oliver due to his knowledge of the virus and the antidote. Who knows? It's possible Ra's will attempt to leverage Oliver to Darhk in some kind of trade-off, which would then lead to his killing Darhk."

"No," Diggle disagreed. "I still think he would've a better chance to kill Darhk while Darhk is involved with releasing the virus." He looked at his wife. "Waller did offer it up as a possible scenario as well, didn't she?"

"With the little info we have, it's difficult to see which option Ra's will go after," Lyla said. "Or, it could be something else entirely."

Roy asked, "Did you say Ra's has another daughter besides Nyssa? And you have had some…kind of relationship with her, Batman?" At his gruff 'yes' Roy asked, "Couldn't you approach Talia to see what she knows, and what she's willing to tell us?"

Nightwing began to cough, and Batman glared at him. Batman then straightened in his seat. "Let's just say when we last parted ways, Talia and I weren't exactly on speaking terms."

Nightwing swallowed a laugh. "Yeah, you rejected her, and she's still acting like a spurned woman."

Batman muttered, "Remind me again why I brought you along?"

"You need me." Nightwing bestowed on his partner a face-splitting grin, then gave Felicity a wink. "And I'm too cute to leave behind."

Batman closed his eyes momentarily then opened them again. "You all bring up excellent points. However, I think neither Nyssa nor Talia will agree to sell out their father. I cannot think of any other insiders who would be willing as well. So, we have to plan for the most likely scenario or scenarios and go from there."

"But whatever we do, I think time is running out," Nightwing said.

"How do you know that?" Roy asked.

"Well, I did ask this friend of ours about primordial forces. She states it operates within a small window, and if someone is talking about it, then it must be about to occur soon. There's no way to predict them more than two weeks outside of their occurring."

"So…that leaves us, perhaps….?" Laurel asked.

"I'd say about a week."

Laurel asked, "Well, if it's such a short time, why did Ra's bring Oliver back to Nanda Parbat, if he's only going to return here?"

"So he doesn't have to worry about hiding from people for too long," Batman replied.

"Talk about hiding people…you decided to hold this meeting and you didn't bother to invite me?" Merlyn's voice interrupted them as he slowly walked into the light from the shadows of the lair.

"Malcolm Merlyn." Batman's voice was so icy it could have turned the water in the water cooler into ice.

"Batman. How nice to see you once again." A small smile appeared on his face. "Or should I say Br…"

Batman's voice both interrupted and drowned him out. "We're only on vigilante name basis at this time, _Dark Archer_."

"So, you two know each other?" Felicity asked, wanting to bring some levity into the situation.

Batman continued to glare at Merlyn. "I met him years ago when I trained with the League."

Team Arrow offered a collective gasp. Felicity asked, "Really? You really trained with the League as well?" she asked Batman.

"That's what started all of this foolishness of Ra's chasing me all these years," Batman said.

Looking between the two men, Diggle asked, "Are you two able to work together, or do we ask Merlyn to leave?"

Batman again pursed his lips as he thought over his answer. Merlyn quirked an eyebrow at the masked crusader and said, "Only if you don't want to succeed in beating both Ra's and Darhk. You need all the help you can get."

"Even yours, Merlyn?" Batman asked in a tone which shivered Felicity down to her toes.

"Especially mine," Merlyn answered with his characteristic smirk.

"Why is that exactly?"

"Because I have the most recent information on Nanda Parbat."

"How is that possible?" Batman leaned back into his chair and glared at Merlyn.

"Let's say I visited Ra's three years ago with a plan to bring about change to this small corner of the world."

Team Arrow exchanged glances, not believing what they had just heard. Diggle shook his head minutely, hoping everyone would stay quiet.

"Which of course he refused to give you permission to do, correct? Instead you carried out your little Undertaking all by yourself here in Starling. Thus inviting his wrath in the first place, starting the mess in which Oliver Queen is now involved."

"Wow, Br…Batman, you sure do stay current, don't you?"

"Only about certain dangers. Like yourself."

"Okay, boys. Are you still sure we should allow Merlyn around, Batman? It seems like you two have quite the large amount of animosity between you." At Batman's look of consideration, Felicity shrunk a little in her chair. "I just want to make sure, that's all."

"Thank you, Ms. Smoak, you are correct on several counts. Despite our…personal history, I think we both can lay our disputes aside in order to take care of these two criminals." Shaking his head, Batman said, "Which we should continue discussing our plans to take care of. Time is running short. Especially if we wish to save Oliver."

Felicity bit back a squeak. She wondered what exactly Batman meant, but she wasn't going to ask. Instead, she set up her tablet, ready to take notes. "All right, let's get this going, like Batman said. I think we should plan on both scenarios happening. Either Ra's using Oliver as bait to draw Darhk out, or killing Darhk before he can spread the virus."

Batman nodded at Merlyn, who rolled a chair from the computer area and sat down next to Diggle. The conversation did turn towards figuring out some strategies to handle the situation in front of them.

Felicity was pleased with her team, how they decided to buckle down and work with the newcomers. She was kept busy with taking down the possible ideas of preventing Darhk from spreading the virus. She was the one who offered Barry as another possible source of aid.

"Have you met Flash, Batman, or have you heard of him?"

Nightwing laughed, then as Felicity turned widened eyes towards him, not hiding her hurt, he apologized. "I'm sorry, Felicity, I didn't mean any offense. It's just that Batman takes special pains to stay current in all world news, especially regarding any superhero types."

Felicity gave him a slight smile and acknowledging nod, with a small blush appearing on her face. "So, I think we can utilize his special talent as well."

"Well, if we go on the assumption Ra's will have Oliver shoot an arrow to kill Darhk while he's releasing the virus…"

"Bar…I mean the Flash…can run up the building and catch the vial before it can fall to the ground when Darhk falls over dead," Felicity said, not hiding the excitement in her voice.

Batman nodded, showing his approval for her quick thinking. "I think that would work, Felicity." Looking around at the rest at the table, he said, "We have enough…should I say manpower…to cover all contingencies. We need to verify where Darhk will be when he releases the virus, make sure he doesn't pull some kind of switch with his plans or leave prematurely, so we need several on guard to watch that. Some to take out any HIVE guards hanging outside the premises. Some to take out the HIVE guards immediately around the place."

Diggle sighed. "So have we figured out how we can get the info where this is all going to take place? Besides figuring out the placement of everyone, we also need to be in position to grab Oliver as soon as this is done. Also grabbing Ra's…"

"Which shouldn't be a problem, right Batman?" Nightwing said, nudging Batman in his shoulder. "You're going to fight and kill him this time, right? Settle this once and for all?" At Batman's growl, Nightwing said, "You know you promised you-know-who you'd take care of Ra's this time. Not listen to any foolish ideas from Talia."

"Nightwing, I keep telling you not to talk about certain things in mixed company." Looking at the Team Arrow, Batman said, "As Nightwing indicated, I think it is best for Nightwing and me to be the ones to fight and capture Ra's. Plus have others circling that building, take care of any LOA team, etc. Similar to the plan for taking care of HIVE operatives."

As the team progressed to refine the details of the rescue plan, Felicity continued to take notes, and maintain progress. For the first time since he'd disappeared, she had hope they'd be able to rescue Oliver and bring him home.

 **AN: Yes, we are moving closer to the ending of this story. Thanks for continuing to read this. Not one of my more popular fics, but what can a gal do? It happens sometimes. Glad the new season of Arrow is almost upon us.**

 **If you're feeling generous, please take a moment and write a review. Always appreciated. And come back for the next chapter when I get it posted to see whether they will be able to save Starling City and Oliver!**


	7. Chapter 7: The Mission, at last

Disclaimer: WB/DC own these characters. I'm only borrowing them for a while. I own the original ideas found in this.

 **AN: Thank you for returning. And we're getting closer to the mission for which Oliver had been kidnapped. Will he be able to stop it?**

Oliver had spent the past week bored to the utmost degree. He saw Ra's only three times, and each time the criminal mastermind refused to give any clue as to what scheme Ra's believed Oliver was going to help him with. Oliver remained chained to the wall of the cell, able to stand and sit, but only able to walk a few steps in the cell. In order to maintain some sort of strength maintenance, as well as to expend nervous energy, he spent part of each day doing calisthenics and various exercises as well as jogging in place.

The morning of the eighth day started as the past seven had, but suddenly Oliver felt eyes on him as he was doing push-ups. When he finished his last one and rolled over to sit up, he saw Ra's was standing outside his cell watching him. Oliver pulled his legs into a yoga pose and silently returned his gaze.

"Never rest a minute, do you, Mr. Queen?" Ra's asked, amusement shining from his eyes and a smirk on his lips.

"Never know when I'd get a chance to bring you down, Ra's. Got to keep up my strength."

"Always with your wit, are you not? However, that so-called wit is only charming up to a point. Now, though, I will finally tell you what your role is in killing Darhk." Ra's opened the cell, entered and closed the cell door behind him without taking his eyes off Oliver.

" _Killing_ Darhk? I've told you before, Ra's I've taken a vow not to kill."

"That is such an antiquated idea. And one so unworthy of you. You will have to learn how to view the world as not strictly black and white. That was why the previous candidate for my Heir did not work."

"You mean, Nyssa?"

"No, there was someone before Nyssa. I will tell you more at a later date. As for now, we will review the plan to kill Darhk." He paused, waiting for another interruption from Oliver. However, Oliver refused to take the bait, only choosing to wait for Ra's to continue.

Ra's gave Oliver a smile which was more than a smirk, but then continued. "I have received word that Darhk will make his move tomorrow night. The stars will be aligned, so he will release the virus at that time. In order to receive the power he is searching for, he has to be away from his power source, the idol you are familiar with from the island. Which will leave him without his power. So, while he is distracted, and powerless, we will be in place to kill him.

"Your role, Oliver, is to fire an arrow to kill Darhk. Once and for all. One of your explosive arrows will kill him when he is the most vulnerable."

"How can you be sure I will fire this arrow?" Oliver attempted to act defiant, even though he suspected it would be of little use.

Ra's gave a short laugh as he shook his head at the younger man's supposed foolishness. "Because if you don't, he will then release the Alpha-Omega virus. You, of all people, know what will happen if that should occur. Millions in your city will die. I don't think you want that, do you, Oliver?"

 _Of course I don't want that. But I also don't want to break my vow not to kill, even another criminal._ "You still think Darhk doesn't suspect a thing?"

"Yes, because in his mind no one would be able to think of such a plan but him. His ego even bypasses mine in its size."

Oliver ignored the temptation to react to such a remark. "If I may ask, if I kill him while he's holding the virus, what's my guarantee he won't, as he's dying, release the virus as he falls to the ground, dead?"

"Well, that depends upon several factors, I suppose. Something you will have to improvise. Either kill him before he picks up the vial, or perhaps as he collapses, the vial will not break." Nonchalantly, Ra's shrugged his shoulders. "Unfortunately, that part of the plan is more difficult to strategize. Actually, it is quite out of our hands to plan for."

Oliver was seething, trying in vain to control his anger. Of course, what would else could he expect? Of course Ra's would act nonchalant about the safety of Star City. Why would he be concerned about citizens' safety? Ra's knew Oliver was vaccinated against the virus, and surely Ra's had inoculated himself and his soldiers as well.

Ra's continued with his snide smile as he watched Oliver struggle with his anger. "It's a good thing you will be taking a nap, Mr. Queen. It will give you time to think this all through."

Before Oliver could prepare for it, Ra's stabbed a syringe into Oliver's forearm. _Not again,_ Oliver thought as consciousness faded away.

~~OQ~~OQ~~OQ~~

Previously:

 _As the team progressed to refine the details of the rescue plan, Felicity continued to take notes, and maintain progress. For the first time since he'd disappeared, she had hope they'd be able to rescue Oliver and bring him home._

Before they went their separate ways that night, Batman administered the vaccine for the Alpha-Omega virus to everyone. Even Felicity took one, despite her hatred of needles and worry of side effects. However, as Diggle reminded her, whatever side effects of the virus, they would be better than possible dying from the virus itself.

Over Felicity's objections, Batman had set up a temporary command post within the Arrow bunker. His argument was that it would only supplement Felicity's computers, but Felicity knew he didn't quite trust her babies' capabilities, which offended her greatly. However, as Diggle reminded her, it was all to get Oliver back safe and sound. Batman also announced that he and Nightwing were going to spend the nights in the Lair, to protect their identities, instead of staying elsewhere.

Whether Batman truly doubted her babies' capabilities, Felicity had to give the sullen crimefighter credit when he was able to detect movement in Nanda Parbat, indicating that a plane was indeed on its way.

"Felicity, notify your team we're on notice. I'd say, given the distance to travel and the time difference, it will be tomorrow night that Darhk will be here and carry out his ceremony."

Felicity was able to contact all of Team Arrow, and Barry, without difficulty, and to set up a time for everyone to meet at the Lair for a final review. Meanwhile, Batman and Nightwing continued to monitor Ra's progress. With Felicity's assistance, they discovered that Darhk, under the assumed name of Sam Smith, had reserved the penthouse at the largest hotel in Star City, the Hudson Hotel.

Plans were finalized with all combatants the next evening when they were all gathered in the Lair. Batman and Nightwing would go to the roof of the parking garage across from the Hudson Hotel, being the most logical place for Oliver and Ra's to be located. Felicity would be located in the van parked on the street below monitoring comms. Lyla and Diggle would be on the ground outside the parking ramp, keeping an eye out for any unexpected activity. Laurel, Roy, and Malcolm would be stationed around the Hudson Hotel, monitoring the activity around it and for any last-minute changes as well. Once they got word that Darhk had been neutralized, they would go up to the penthouse suite to confirm it. And it would be up to Barry to catch the vial holding the virus before it crashed open, exposing everyone in the city to its dangerous contents.

The team got into position, comms working, everyone on alert. Felicity was having difficulty keeping her nerves tamped down, but she concentrated on remaining as calm as possible, for Oliver's sake. Whether he knew it or not, Oliver was depending on them to keep their city safe and to rescue him. And hopefully take care of two of the worst criminals the world had ever known, while they were at it.

~~OQ~~OQ~~OQ~~

After an indeterminate amount of time. Oliver found himself again waking up from a drugged sleep. This time his arms were restrained behind his back with chains, his ankles bound together as well. He was again leaning against a wall, but this time it appeared they were in the living room of a hotel suite.

"Hope you had a pleasant rest, Oliver. See, I spared you the agony of transatlantic travel by providing you a guaranteed rest while we traveled."

"Oh, you are _ever_ so kind. I take it we are now in Star City?"

Ra's walked up to Oliver and kicked him several times in the abdomen. "You still haven't learned yet, Oliver? Tsk, tsk. Manners, Oliver. Very important in our relationship."

Oliver bit back several replies he wanted to say but thought better of it.

"In answer to your question, yes, we are now in Star City. I wish you would rest so you will be in optimum shape tonight, but I will not administer another sedative. I do not wish to affect your ability to shoot accurately in any fashion."

Hating to make any semblance of bowing to Ra's' authority but tired of receiving hits he couldn't defend himself from, Oliver asked, "If I may ask, liege, when will we leave?"

Ra's looked up at the clock on the wall. "In two hours we will prepare to leave, and be on our way within a half hour after that." Walking towards the door which Oliver presumed led to a bedroom, Ra's stated, "I myself will go and rest." Two guards appeared from the other room and stood at attention at each doorway, keeping their eyes on Oliver. "You rest, Mr. Queen, and I will be back."

Oliver was restless and sore, but unable to move from his sitting position due to his restraints. His mind at first was busy with creating possible escape plans, but each one had to be discarded as impossible. Looking at his two guards, Oliver wondered if he could convince them to help him, but quickly discarded that idea as well. No way could he plead to a possible humane nature; he wasn't even sure they had one. Finally, Oliver decided to close his eyes and meditate, to give his body and mind some needed rest. If he did end up doing what Ra's had said, he would need all the peace he could cultivate, in order to hit his target.

Before he knew it, Oliver was being shaken awake. He was blindfolded, gagged, and thrown into the back of a van. The bonds around his ankles were removed. He wasn't sure how long it took them to get to their destination, with all the turns they went through he was certain they were making sure he didn't know. With his head pounding from the tranquilizer he'd been given before they had left Nanda Parbat, his sense of direction was off.

After the van stopped, he was pulled out of the van by two of the guards and was half-dragged up several flights of stairs, then into an elevator. Still blindfolded, Oliver had no idea as yet what building they were at. Ra's had managed to conceal specific details about this final showdown, despite Oliver's multiple attempts to discover any info whatsoever.

As the elevator opened, Oliver felt fresh air on his face as he was led some distance away from the elevator. His blindfold then taken off, Oliver wasn't surprised to find out they are on the top floor of a parking garage overlooking Star City. Looking across the street, Oliver wasn't surprised to see the Hudson Hotel, the grandest hotel in Star City, complete with a penthouse and huge balcony, facing him.

"Don't worry, Al Sa-him, I will show you which window to aim. And a high-powered bow with high specs to see him with. And one arrow. Of course."

"Of course." Holding up his chained wrists, Oliver asked, "Will I get these removed so I can do the job?"

"Of course. But it will be a while." Pointing to a chair some distance away from the edge, Ra's suggested, "Why don't you go sit down and rest? Collect your thoughts so you can hit your target."

~~OQ~~OQ~~OQ~~

Thirty minutes later, Oliver was in position, looking down as Darhk stepped out on the balcony of his penthouse suite at the Hudson Hotel. He nocked the arrow and was in position, waiting for the optimum moment to release the arrow.

Darhk appeared to be oblivious of anyone observing him. He lifted his head, raised his arms out in front of him, holding out his hands and appeared to take several deep breaths. He then opened up his suit coat, took out a vial from an inside pocket, and Oliver made the decision. As Darhk made to remove the cover of the vial, Oliver let the arrow fly. It hit Darhk right in the heart. He took a step back, and Oliver could see the look of surprise on his face as his relaxed hand let go of the vial. As Darhk fell backward, Oliver observed a flash of red go up the building and pass in front of Darhk, then it and the vial disappeared. Before he could put all the details together, Oliver was hit with a traq dart, and fell unconscious at Ra's feet.

Before Ra's could collect his unconscious Heir and leave, Batman stepped out of the shadows behind him. "Hello Ra's."

Ra's slowly turned, a smile gracing his features. "Hello, Detective. Imagine my surprise in finding you here." Pausing for effect he then asked, "Why _are_ you here?"

"To prevent you from taking this young man as your heir. No one deserves such a…burden…being Heir to the Demon."

"Burden, Detective? Not everyone would think so. Least of all Mr. Queen. Eventually. Even though he presently denies not being attracted to the idea, give him time, and he will be convinced."

"No, he wouldn't."

"You are incorrect, Detective. At times, Mr. Queen has exhibited similar morals as you, but he has too much of a history of dark deeds to be permanently attached to such a set of morals." Walking sideways to the other side of the roof, Ra's said, "That is why you were never going to agree to be my heir, Detective. You possess too inflexible a moral code. Hardly ever gray, are you? You see the world in polarities. Mr. Queen here, has had moments when he has seen the grays in the world. That is why he will succeed as my Heir. Even with your attempted interference."

Ra's may have believed he would catch Batman unawares, coming at him with his two swords he had taken from hidden sheaths behind him. However, Batman also had two hidden swords in his cape as well, knowing what type of weapon Ra's preferred. A battle commenced between the two, while Oliver remained unconscious a distance away.

Without Batman being aware of it, two of Ra's' soldiers were approaching the combatants to assist their liege. However, Nightwing jumped out of the shadows and began to engage the two soldiers. A flash of red appeared, and the two soldiers were next seen restrained with rope.

"Thanks, Flash, but I had it handled," Nightwing said with a grin.

"Yeah, I guess so, but it doesn't hurt to make sure. I also took care of all the other soldiers in the immediate area. Ra's didn't bring too many soldiers with him. I guess he didn't figure he'd have a fight on his hands."

The two men turned as one to look at the two combatants continuing to battle a short distance away from them. "Should we assist Batman?" Flash asked.

"Nah, this is something he needs to do on his own," Nightwing answered, just as Batman feigned weakness and Ra's got in a nasty abdominal slice. As Ra's pulled back, Batman brought up his other arm and impaled Ra's through his other sword.

Ra's looked at his opponent. As his eyes fluttered closed, he said, "You were always my number one choice, Detective." Ra's tumbled over at Batman's feet.

Batman looked over at Nightwing and Flash, taking in the restrained soldiers behind them. "Well done. I assume everything else has been taken care of?"

Nightwing nodded at the fallen Ra's at their feet. "Except for one remaining item, Batman. You said, you would take care of Ra's finally if given the chance, so that he can't be resurrected any more by the Lazarus Pit. Here's your chance."

Batman reached out as if to take the sword from Nightwing's hand.

 **AN: Will Batman really kill Ra's al Ghul permanently, to make the Lazarus Pit useless on him? Read the next chapter when I post it to find out. So thanks again for reading and if you choose to leave a review, know I always, always appreciate it!**


	8. Chapter 8: An Unexpected Guest

Disclaimer: WB/DC own these characters. I'm only borrowing them for a while. I own the original ideas found in this.

 **AN: This, sadly, is the final chapter of this little adventure involving both Ra's and Darhk. While I was writing this, I decided I don't really like the character of Darhk. It only took, what, six to eight months to decide that? Ha. So, I do believe this will be the final, if not second-to-the final story featuring him. (I got another story which I am still trying to finish as well, sigh). So, after I'm done with that one…I'm done with Darhk. (At least I'm pretty sure….unless another story comes knocking.)**

 **Anyhoo…thanks for sticking with this story anyway, and hope you enjoy this last chapter tying up the loose ends. Some Olicity at the end, because I miss those two together. But…if that's not your cup of tea, sure hope you will begin reading my Lauriver stories I have going (at the moment, two). I believe they both have had rather good starts. (Nothing like some shameless self-promoting).**

 **Anyway, on with the show….**

Previously:

 _Batman looked over at Nightwing and Flash, taking in the restrained soldiers behind them. "Well done. I assume everything else has been taken care of?"_

 _Nightwing nodded at the fallen Ra's at their feet. "Except for one remaining item, Batman. You said, you would take care of Ra's finally if given the chance, so that he can't be resurrected any more by the Lazarus Pit. Here's your chance."_

 _Batman reached out as if to take the sword from Nightwing's hand._

As Batman was about to take the sword, several bullets rang out. The three men looked toward the source of the gunfire and watched in amazement as a tall, beautiful brunette walked out holding a gun in either hand.

"Hello, Beloved."

"Talia," Batman said gruffly, hiding his true emotions behind a stone mask.

"I cannot let you finish my father off permanently."

Flash looked at the woman with a confused look on his face. "What do you mean, lady? I offer my condolences, because he looks quite dead to me."

Nightwing leaned closer to Flash. "We'll explain later." Looking at Talia he said, "Do you think several guns will keep us from doing what someone should have done years ago? Not to mention knowing how you feel about Batman, you wouldn't hurt us."

Looking at Nightwing, Talia fired a shot, hitting his right knee. Nightwing collapsed, yelling, "What the hell, Talia!"

"You may be correct about my shooting my Beloved, but I have no qualms about killing you, or this brash young man in red, if he harms my father further." Calling out in Arabic, two other soldiers walked out of the shadows near Talia. Keeping their eyes on Batman, they approached the fallen Ra's, lifted him up, and carried him towards the stairs. Talia kept Batman and the two younger men in her gunsights until her soldiers began to go down the stairs with their invaluable burden.

"If only I could convince you to come with us, Beloved. But…."

"But my answer has not and will not change, Talia. We disagree on too many subjects."

Talia sighed heavily. "Least of all, my father." Backing towards the stairs, she made as if she was going to leave. Before stepping into the stairwell, she made one last comment. "Until we meet again, Beloved. Do not doubt you take my love with you."

As soon as she disappeared, Batman bent over Nightwing, checking out his injury. Nightwing instead pulled away from him. "Go after her, Batman! With the Arrow's crew, we can easily take her! I'm fine."

"No, with the firepower she has with her, she would injure too many people. At least Ra's will be out of commission again for three or four months. Each time he 'dies', it takes him longer to rejuvenate. And remember."

"Yeah, 'remember'. Why doesn't he ever forget about you? Even though this time he did go after someone else." A sudden idea occurred to him. "Batman, why _did_ he go after someone else?"

"I don't know, Nightwing. I do have to ask Oliver about that."

At that point, the rest of Team Arrow arrived. Diggle and Lyla had waited for the rest to join them before they all made their way to the parking garage roof, after receiving the all-clear signal from Batman.

Felicity burst out of the elevator, eyes only for Oliver. Seeing Oliver unconscious, she rushed over to him. Searching for injuries, she yelled at Batman. "I thought you said all went well?"

"It did, Felicity. Oliver is only knocked unconscious. Ra's shot him with a traq dart, once Oliver had completed his task."

"What task?"

"Oliver firing the arrow, killing Darhk."

"I'm sure it was so they could transport him back to Nanda Parbat more easily," Diggle said with a wry smile.

Batman grunted at him. "Of course. I'm sure that's how Ra's transported him here from Nanda Parbat in the first place. He isn't known to take chances, especially with someone as…tricky, as Oliver can be."

Felicity finished verifying to her own satisfaction that Oliver indeed was uninjured. Oliver himself remained unconscious despite all the activity happening around him. Having decided it was time to leave, Diggle instructed Roy to make a fireman's lift and picked Oliver up in order to transport him to the van downstairs. Felicity called for the elevator, and the group got in, while the rest of the Team took the stairs. The group was quiet as they got into the van and additional car, also holding all conversation until they returned to the Lair.

After Diggle and Roy carried Oliver into the Lair, they placed him on the cot and made him comfortable. Everyone came to sit around the table for an after-mission review.

"That went off surprisingly well," Nightwing said. "I for one am not afraid to admit I had my worries."

"Of course, we all did," Diggle said solemnly. "There were too many holes and possibilities for it all to go wrong."

"It's a good thing that because of his 'power shortage', Darhk wasn't thinking as sharply as he usually could," Malcolm said. "Were you all aware he's actually the same age as Ra's, from the same time period?"

"What?" rose collectively from the group.

"He had originally run from the group when the current Ra's was picked as leader and he wasn't. He stole water from the Lazarus Pit, encouraged quite a large number of the League to accompany him, and left to form his own group known in the Tibetan area as HIVE."

"I would ask why we've never heard of them before this, but we hadn't heard of Ra's or the League either before you brought them into our lives," Felicity said. She shook her head. "You don't have any other people you haven't introduced us to, have you, Merlyn?"

"No, Ms. Smoak, for which I'm glad." Rising from his chair, he reached his hand out to Batman. "Br…Batman, it was a pleasure working _with_ you this time, instead of against you."

Batman first looked at the offered hand with barely concealed disfavor, then changed his mind and took it, giving it a firm shake. "Thank you for your assistance, Dark Archer. I appreciate your helping instead of hurting us this time as well."

Merlyn smirked. Turning to the rest of the team, he said, "If there isn't anything else I can do for you folks, I'll take my leave." A look passed over his face quickly that if it were anyone else, Felicity would've called it guilt. "I again apologize for all of this inconvenience. I'm happy to say that I wouldn't be causing you any such trouble again."

As they watched him leave, Felicity muttered, "I can certainly hope not, but the century is young."

Everyone else laughed, and Felicity turned a slight shade of red, muttering, "Sorry."

Oliver chose this moment to stir, and Felicity flew to him in a flash. "Oliver, you all right? Are you awake?"

Oliver's eyes began to open. For some reason, this time he didn't thrash around like he usually did upon awakening. Felicity continued to hold his hand until his eyes opened completely. He took in the sight of her sitting safely next to him, and he smiled as he took in the familiar sights of the Lair.

"I guess I made it back home safe and sound."

"You sure did. Talia took Ra's back home with her, leaving you with us. You killed Darhk. Barry was able to catch the toxin and bring it to STAR labs, where it was destroyed without difficulty. And luckily, you aren't injured and only were shot with a traq dart."

"So that's why I was taking a nap. For some reason being unconscious is Ra's' favorite way to transport his enemies, I guess."

"I gave you an antidote for the sedative so you'd wake up quicker," Digg said. "We didn't need to have you out as long as it would take for a trip to Nanda Parbat."

Oliver rearranged himself on the couch so he could see who was all sitting around the meeting table. His eyes widened as he noticed Batman and Nightwing sitting with the rest of Team Arrow. Looking at Diggle and Felicity, he stuttered, "What? Where…how…?"

"Um, we decided to pull out the big guns when we figured both Darhk and al Ghul were involved with all of this. We called Waller, who decided Batman was the one to help us since he'd had experience with al Ghul before…." Felicity explained.

Oliver's eyes lit up, indicating he'd had some insight. "So Batman, _you're_ the one Ra's mentioned with the inflexible morals."

"I suppose he mentioned that when he told you of his offering me the position as his Heir?"

"Yes, he did, but he didn't tell me your name. Instead, he was going to tell me, he said, at a later time."

Batman's lips curled and he shook his cowled head in disgust. "Quite a man to deal with." His lips then curled up into a small smile. "I hope, Queen, you don't mind our using your headquarters to help you out. I must say, you have a decent enough workplace here." Turning to catch Felicity's eyes, he winked at her and said, "But a very impressive IT girl."

Felicity turned a brighter pink, and Oliver shot her a look, his eyebrows raised at the familiarity of one who'd they hadn't met before this week.

"Yes, Felicity is quite…remarkable. She's one of the best teammates I could ever hope for." When Diggle and Roy cleared their throats, Oliver rolled his eyes. "Yes, guys, I am grateful for you as well."

"We were just teasing you, Oliver," Diggle said, choosing not to hide a large grin.

"Yeah, we already knew you consider us unreplaceable as well," Roy said with a chuckle.

Batman stood up, catching Nightwing's eye, who reluctantly also stood up. "We need to go, and get back to Gotham. My source had kept me informed, letting me know everything had been quiet there the past few days. However..."

"However, Papa Bear is never comfortable too far from home," interrupted Nightwing, and received a scowl from Batman. He gave his partner a cheeky grin, made his way to Felicity, and reached for her hand. "My dear, it has been a pleasure meeting you. Perhaps someday soon, you can show me the sights of this city." Raising her hand, Nightwing placed a gentle kiss on the back of it. Felicity blushed again but before she could start to babble, Batman grabbed him by the neck. "Come on, Junior, let's get you out of here before you do something Batgirl could beat you up for." He pushed Nightwing towards the stairs and turned to Oliver. "If you ever need our help again…"

"Don't?" suggested Oliver in his Arrow voice.

Batman gave him a rare smile. "No, I was going to say, don't be afraid to reach out again." He joined Nightwing and they left the Lair.

The Arrow team sat in silence until the door shut. Roy breathed a sigh of relief. "Batman does seem like a fairly good guy to know, but I prefer Nightwing. Definitely less scary."

Oliver shrugged. "Yeah, he can be gruff, but Batman does get the job done. Like any good leader."

Felicity nudged him. "You just say that because you can relate to his gruff exterior." Oliver scowled at her, and she smiled brightly at him in return. "Seriously, Oliver, how are you feeling? And please don't say…."

"I'm fine."

"That…urgg." Looking at Diggle, who was smiling at her, she said, "Yeah, I know. We only have to worry about him when he doesn't say he's fine."

Oliver looked at his team. He was happy to be with them once again. "Anyone else hungry? Let's go get something to eat."

"Big Belly Burger is closed, but Kay's Kitchen is open all night," Roy said.

"Sounds good to me," Diggle said.

 **AN: Well, that's it, another satisfying ending to yet another story. Since you got this far, I trust you were mostly entertained. I sure hope so, I certainly tried. I thought this story, on the whole, had some of the most interesting twists I've ever included in a story. As well as even more experience with writing adventure stories, which I love but get so self-conscious about writing.**

 **So I want to thank all my readers again for giving this story a try, and hopefully see you when I post a new story. (Or check out one of my other ones as well, complete or incomplete). And, if you're feeling especially charitable, leave me a review and let me know what you thought of this story. Thanks ever so much, and see you again soon!**


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